| Specimen requirement | Whole Blood | Urine |
| Adult patient: Special EDTA tube for trace elements Minimum blood volume: 2.6 mL |
Spot
urine: Special acid wash bottle for trace elements Volume: 10 mL 24 Hr urine: U6 bottle |
|
| Paediatric patient: Special EDTA tube for trace elements Minimum blood volume: 1.3 mL |
||
| Authorisation code required | No | Yes |
| 24 Hr available service | No | No |
| Method | Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) | |
| Reference interval |
Whole blood:
< 1.50 µmol/L
(Source: SAS Trace Element Lab. Clin. and Analytical Handbook 2nd ed. 1992)
24 Hr urine:
< 0.5 µmol/day
(Source: SAS Trace Element Lab. Clin. and Analytical Handbook 2nd ed. 1992) |
|
| Clinical indication |
Whole blood:
Lead poisoning, population screening and occupational lead exposure
Urine:
Monitoring the effect of chelation therapy in lead poisoning |
|
| Result interpretation |
Whole blood:
It is desirable for all lead workers to minimise lead level less than 1.5 µmol/L. At this action level the work environment and work practices should be investigated. |
|
| Measurement of uncertainty | See table. | |
| Frequency of measurement | Weekly | |